After months of negotiating between the House and Senate, this new bill whose objective is to help curb sexual misconduct on Capitol Hill was first announced on Wednesday, Dec. 12, and passed less than a day later. By unanimous consent, both the House and Senate came to an agreement and pushed the bill through, according to Politico.

Under this new legislation, according to The Washington Post, lawmakers who have been accused will be required to reimburse the Treasury Department for any awards or settlements that resulted from the harassment or any retaliation, as opposed to the taxpayers footing the bill. In addition, allegations of misconduct now include a preliminary review, voluntary involvement in the mediation — which means legal teams can negotiate the case with a third party, without the accuser being present — and offers those employees who bring claims a confidential advisor, according to Politico. Whereas, per The Washington Post, the current policy requires mandatory counseling and "cooling off" periods for accusers, which is an amount of time, at least 30 days, required before a sexual misconduct suit can be filed. Forcing accusers to wait before filing a claim could put them at further risk and extends the length of the whole process, while the one being accused still serves.

This is a bill that fundamentally changes the way sexual harassment cases are handled in the Senate and in the House. The process we have will now protect victims of harassment instead of protecting politicians.

With all the members of Congress who had to leave based on allegations of sexual misconduct, it's evident that #MeToo means just as much on Capitol Hill as in the rest of America. Hopefully this new bill will see some positive change.